Sisters by Choice

by Susan Mallery

  “I’m here.”

  “Oh. Great.” Now what? Did she say goodbye and hang up? Ask about his weekend?

  “She can call me,” he said unexpectedly. “Just Maggie. Not you. I never want to see you again. No offense.”

  “None taken. So I’ll have her call and set up another meeting. Thanks, Bryce. I appreciate that. Really. You have no idea.”

  “You’re a talker, you know that? I’m hanging up now, Sophie.”

  “Good idea. Thanks for talking. Have a nice—”

  She heard the click as he hung up on her. She set down the receiver and jumped to her feet. “I did it! I did it! Woo-hoo!” She spun in a circle then raced out of her office and down the hall. She burst into Maggie’s office.

  “I did it! I called Bryce.”

  Maggie moaned. “No. Tell me you’re kidding.”

  “I’m not and it’s fine. I apologized. He said you could call him and set up a meeting. All I have to do is never speak to him again. We’re in!”

  Maggie looked skeptical. “Are you telling me you’re going to let me fly back to Chicago on my own?”

  “I am.”

  “Uh-huh. Sure you are.”

  Sophie shook her head. “I’m not kidding, Maggie. This is your deal. I won’t be a part of it. If I am, I’ll just screw things up again. I want access to Bryce’s accounts more than I want to be in control. I hired you to get that done. Now you have to prove to me I wasn’t wrong.”

  “Are you feeling all right?”

  “I am. Now call him and then get your flight scheduled. Tick, tick, tick. Time is wasting.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Heather had put off the inevitable for nearly two weeks. Sophie was great and hadn’t once asked what the fight had been about and Heather hadn’t volunteered the information. She’d quickly settled into Sophie’s guest room, spending long days at work and hanging out with Gina as much as she could. Daphne had come home the previous weekend and that had been a lot of fun and a great distraction, but Heather knew she couldn’t avoid what had happened forever and she couldn’t not tell Sophie the truth.

  She supposed part of her reluctance was loyalty to her mother. But she simply couldn’t accept or excuse what Amber had done.

  Ironically, she’d run into her at work a few times and they’d both acted like nothing was wrong. It was an insane situation that only made sense in the odd victim-based world in which her mother lived.

  Heather got home from work and changed her clothes, then looked in on the cats. Lily had seemed lost for a couple of days after her kittens had left, but she’d quickly recovered. Mrs. Bennet’s litter would be heading out for adoption at the end of the week.

  Heather greeted the cat family and cleaned out the two litter boxes. After preparing the evening meals, she fed everyone, then went to wait for Sophie.

  She’d texted her earlier, asking what time she would be home and if they could talk. Sophie had promised to stop for takeout and be home no later than six thirty.

  She arrived right on time, bags of Chinese in her hands. Heather had already set the table and opened a bottle of wine. She wasn’t going to be twenty-one for another couple of months, but Sophie had said she was fine with Heather having the occasional drink, as long as she did it at home and didn’t ever drive after. Heather had never taken her up on it but thought tonight might be the evening to do so.

  “I might have overdone it,” Sophie admitted, unloading the cartons of food onto the kitchen table. “I couldn’t decide and then I thought we could just eat the leftovers at lunch. Because it’s always just as good the next day.”

  Heather nodded, wondering if she would be able to eat. She had a knot in her stomach. There was no way this conversation was going to go well—she was about to betray her mother and at the same time, tell Sophie she’d been keeping things from her.

  Sophie sat down and motioned to Heather’s chair. “You called this meeting, kid. Want to start with idle chitchat or just get to it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Sophie passed her a carton of steamed wontons. “Okay. Take your time.”

  Heather put down the carton and hung her head. “You’re going to be mad.” She looked up. “I don’t blame you,” she added quickly. “You should be mad. I deserve that. I didn’t tell you and now I’m living here, taking advantage of you and—”

  “You’re not taking advantage of me,” Sophie told her. “You take care of the cats, you get food in the house. You’re a great roommate.”

  Heather told herself to just say it and then deal with the consequences. “My mom is stealing from the company. I saw her when I went home sick that day. We had a big fight about it and that’s why I moved out.”

  Sophie stabbed her wonton. “Still? She’s crafty, I’ll give you that. Bear is going to have a meltdown. He thought he had enough procedures in place to keep that from happening. I swear, we’re going to have to start strip-searching her and no one is going to want that job.”

  Heather couldn’t breathe. Still? Still! “She was stealing before?”

  “Uh-huh.” Sophie picked up her wine. “I confronted her, threatened her with public humiliation and pressing charges. I thought I’d gotten through to her. I should have known better.” She motioned to the cartons of food. “Eat, please. I appreciate you telling me. I know it wasn’t easy. I’ll deal with it. Oh, crap.”

  She shook her head. “I talked to her a couple of days ago. No wonder she started the conversation by saying it wasn’t true. She thought you’d told me already.”

  Heather didn’t understand Sophie’s reaction. “You’re not mad I waited?”

  “No. She’s your mom. Amber doesn’t make anything easy. You did tell me and that’s what matters.”

  Heather’s concerns faded away, leaving her starving. She piled food onto her plate. “I was so scared.”

  “Don’t you ever be scared of me. There’s nothing you can tell me that will cause me to stop loving you. I may yell at you, but I’ll still love you.”

  Heather grinned. “Even if I’m pregnant?”

  Sophie’s mouth dropped open. “Dear God, tell me you’re kidding.”

  Heather laughed. “I’m kidding. I haven’t had sex in forever. I’m terrified to get involved with a guy. What if something happens and I’m trapped here? I don’t want that.”

  “What do you want?”

  “College. A future.” There was more, but those were the most important elements.

  “That’s not going to happen here.”

  Sophie’s tone was casual, but Heather got the message—she was being tested. Were her plans real or just a lot of cheap Amber-talk?

  Heather put down her fork. “I know. A while back Elliot talked to me about different colleges that have good marketing departments. That’s what I want to study. I applied to a couple of different places. I’ve been looking into financial aid.” She rolled her eyes. “USC, if you can believe it. As if I’d get in there. Plus, it’s so expensive. But he insisted. I’m thinking Boise State.”

  She paused, bracing herself for disapproval or laughter or a giant foot to come down and squash her dreams.

  Sophie only sipped her wine. “Why Boise State?”

  “It’s a day’s drive away. I’m close but not so close I can come back anytime. The school is great and the town is really growing. Plus, it’s not super-expensive. I’d work for a year to get my residency established and then start taking classes.”

  “You’ve thought about this.”

  “I have. I’m learning a lot from Elliot and I hate to leave CK, but with Grandma selling the house and my mom throwing me out, this seems like maybe the right time to go.”

  “I agree.” Sophie’s voice was soft. “Heather, I know you’re scared. You want to go but you feel guilty about it. Here’s the thing. There will never be
the perfect time. You have an opportunity. If you don’t take it, if you don’t make it happen, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Your mother will suck you back in and you will be trapped. It’s going to come down to whether or not you have the courage to just go.”

  “I know. I’m scared, but I don’t want to be like her. I don’t want to be trapped and blame everyone else for being disappointed.”

  She wanted to get away and experience life on her own terms.

  “But?” Sophie asked.

  “But it’s hard to think about,” she admitted. “I’ve never been on my own. I’ve never lived anywhere but here. What if I’m not as smart as I think I am? What if I can’t make friends or be successful in college or... What if I fail?”

  “Remember your quilt idea?”

  The change in topic caught her off guard. “Yes.” But what did that have to do with anything?

  “We presented it to the distributor.”

  “Did he like it? Are we going to develop it? I think the customers will love it and—”

  “He said no.”

  Heather’s shoulders slumped. “Really? I’m sorry, Sophie. I thought it was a great idea.” How could she have been so wrong?

  “It wasn’t the idea, it was me. I screwed up the meeting. I did everything Maggie told me not to do. I turned what should have been a great success into a total disaster. It was all me. We lost the chance and the account.”

  Heather stared at her. “But you’re perfect. You know everything.”

  Sophie grinned. “If only that were true. And I’m not, but you’re sweet to say it. Heather, you’re going to mess up. You’re going to fail. That isn’t the point. Life is about trying and moving forward and doing what terrifies us. It might work out and it might not, but at least you’re moving forward. At least you’re making the effort.”

  “What are you going to do about the distributor?”

  “I’ve already called and apologized. He’s willing to see Maggie as long as I’m not there. So I’m going to trust my sales director to do her job and I’m going to do mine and we’ll see how it ends up. What are you going to do about your life?”

  Heather wanted to point out she was only twenty. That all she knew was the island. But she also knew those were only excuses—like blaming a lack of a career on getting pregnant. She could either play it safe and trap herself forever or she could stop dreaming and start doing.

  “I’m going to leave Blackberry Island.”

  “Do you promise?”

  Fear threatened. There were thousands of unknowns and yet Heather knew if she didn’t go now, she never would.

  “Yes, Sophie. I promise.”

  “Okay, then. You need a plan. A place to stay and a job. Give yourself a deadline and start working on them. Get your car into the mechanic and get it serviced. I’ll pay for that. Then pack your things and go. Still sure?”

  Heather thought about the impossibly expensive apartment her mother wanted. If she stayed, she would sign that lease and that would be that. If she stayed, she would become Amber.

  “I’m sure. I’ll start looking for a room to rent tonight.”

  Sophie smiled. “That’s my girl. You’re making the right decision, Heather. I’m sure of it.”

  “Me, too.”

  * * *

  Saturday morning Kristine stared at the stacked boxes in the middle of her gleaming kitchen. While she already had the big-ticket items such as the oven, the refrigerator and the cooling racks, she needed tons of supplies to make her business a success. To that end, she’d bought industrial-size cookie sheets, measuring cups, spoons, spatulas, and dozens of other items necessary to produce her cookies and brownies. There were also shipping supplies: boxes, tissue paper, labels, a postage meter and tape. The costs had nearly sent her screaming into the night, but she hadn’t had a choice. Without a way to bake cookies and brownies or ship them, she wasn’t going to be very successful.

  Monday she would have her health inspection. Once she’d passed that final hurdle, she would order all the ingredients and start baking, which was both exciting and terrifying. Her business was really happening. She was only a few weeks away from the new custom awning and window sign being installed. After that she would pick a day for her official grand opening. Until then she would be baking for the wineries and the inn and for the few mail-order customers she had. She’d also taken Bear’s advice and had bought a mailing list. With the help of a graphics company in Everett, she’d designed a postcard mailer with a coupon. That would be finished by the end of next week and go out in the mail. It had been pricey and not in her budget, but worth it in the end, she told herself. Or so she hoped.

  At least her website was done, although that had also been more expensive than she’d anticipated. Money out, she thought. That was the theme of the last month. Monday or Tuesday she was going to have to sit down and figure out how much she’d burned through already and how much more she was going to need. She had a bad feeling she was going to come up short.

  “Not thinking about that today,” she told herself. “Today is about opening boxes and won’t that be fun?”

  She glanced at the large cookie-clock on the wall. The boys had spent the night with Jaxsen. He would be dropping them off around ten to hang out with her before they scattered to various activities in the afternoon.

  She had to admit, she was nervous about seeing him. Ridiculous considering how long they’d been married, but still true. They’d spoken on the phone a few times—short conversations that had gone well. He hadn’t said anything about leaving her and she hadn’t mentioned being broken at the thought. It was as if they were finding their way back. She needed to believe that.

  Anticipation mingled with a touch of what-if-he’s-a-jerk-again. Faith, she told herself, getting a box cutter out of her tote bag. He’d done incredible work in the store. She had to have faith.

  She cut open all the boxes before returning the box cutter to her bag. The boys would help her unpack but there was no way she was letting them loose with a sharp blade.

  She went to work unpacking a giant coffee maker. She’d gone with a fancy model in gleaming stainless steel. Over budget, but beautiful and it got great reviews. After setting it up on the counter, she read the directions. She washed out the various parts and put them in place, then added water.

  “Here we go, big guy. Don’t let me down.”

  She flipped the on switch and waited. The water began heating and less than two minutes later she heard the happy, bubbling sound of hot water filling the large stainless carafe.

  According to the directions, the coffee would stay hot for at least four hours. She had no idea how much foot traffic she would get or if anyone would want coffee, but she wanted to have it available.

  “Crap!”

  She reached for the pad of paper she’d thrown in her tote and dug out a pen. She was going to need mugs for the store and to-go cups for people to take with them. And stirrers and something to hold cream and milk. And little sugars and low-cal sweeteners. She wasn’t going to compete with the coffee place in town but she couldn’t just offer black coffee.

  She wrote everything on the list, then waited for the carafe to finish filling. She dumped the hot water, then poured in the ground coffee she’d brought from home. She started the unit again and waited. This time in addition to the sounds, she inhaled the scent of brewing coffee.

  By ten she was on her second cup of delicious coffee and had made a dent in the unpacking. Right on time she heard her kids outside the store and went to let them in. Her heart sank a little when she saw her mother-in-law behind them instead of Jaxsen. Why hadn’t he come? Weren’t things supposed to be better now?

  Too many questions and no answers, she thought, pushing those thoughts away and focusing on her kids.

  “How was your night?” she asked cheerfully, openi
ng the door for them and ushering everyone inside.

  “We stayed up and played Xbox,” Grant said.

  “Not that late,” Tommy added.

  Ruth looked around the store. “Oh, Kristine, it’s beautiful. I can’t believe how perfectly everything is turning out.”

  “It does look great, doesn’t it?”

  JJ patted one of the walls. “We helped Dad with the painting. After school. All of us helped.”

  Something she hadn’t known. “You never said anything.”

  “It’s a surprise,” Grant told her. “Do you like it?”

  “I love it. Thank you so much.”

  She wasn’t sure what to make of the information, but it seemed positive. If only Jaxsen were here.

  “Let me show you around,” she said and led the way through the space. After they’d explored it all, Ruth left to run errands and the boys got to work unpacking boxes.

  “We’re going to put everything away today,” she said. “I’ll wash it all later. First, I want to figure out where everything goes and make sure I have enough shelves.”

  Not that she knew what she was going to do if she didn’t.

  “You can store the cookie sheets on the cooling racks,” JJ told her. “That’s where they’ll be most of the time anyway. It’ll save room.”

  “Good idea.”

  Tommy was stacking mixing bowls. “Mom, where’s the dishwasher?”

  “What?” She stared at her kitchen, searching the lower cabinets. There was a giant sink and shelves and cabinets and the stove and...

  “There’s no dishwasher,” she breathed. How could she have missed that? Without a dishwasher, she was going to have to wash every single thing by hand. Every day!

  Grant grinned at JJ. “I know what you’re going to be doing when you work here.”

  JJ looked worried. “Mom, you’re getting a dishwasher, aren’t you?”

  There wasn’t a dishwasher. How could she have not seen that? She thought about the number of cookie sheets she would use in a day. While she could protect them with a layer of parchment paper and use a pan more than once before washing it, what about the brownie pans and the bowls and spoons and everything else?